Savathun's Song Redux
by fanficer73
Summary: Story I wrote for my Writing Fiction class in college. Basically AU characters in an alternate take on the Strike. Lemme know if I should keep writing on in in the comments.


***PREFACE***

In this Dystopian world, there exists a being known as the Traveler.

It is a large, white, moon sized sphere that exudes Light, a mysterious power, whose nature is majorly unknown.

It came into the Sol System hundreds of years ago; the exact time is unknown.

First stopping at Io, one of Jupiter's moons, it began affecting humanity.

Its appearance led to the Golden Age, an age of unprecedented advancement of life.

The golden age lasted a few centuries, with vast improvement to life, with interplanetary exploration and other great advancements in technology and society.

Then came the Darkness.

It was the mortal enemy of the Traveler.

The Darkness was the opposite of the Traveler, in that the Traveler brought peace and Light to the universe, and the Darkness brought havoc and Dark.

It wiped away approximately eighty percent of human civilization within a few short months.

Humanity had no way to fight back, as this was something far beyond their power.

The Traveler had to defend itself, and its people.

It fled to Earth, humanity's last bastion of hope.

There it made its final stand and sacrificed itself to protect humanity and defeat the Darkness.

This event is known as the Collapse.

Very little of the golden age technology and knowledge survived it.

Following the collapse, the Traveler went dormant, damaged by its fight.

Its last will released the Ghosts, small beings of Light that can imbue beings with Light.

Ghosts sought strong people that could handle the Light. They resurrected them from the dead, whether they be freshly dead or dead for centuries, and imbued them with Light.

Thus, began the birth of humanoids that possess the power of the Light.

Each being had a "class" that they were assigned when they gained their Light.

Titans, strong and bold. Hunters, cunning and wild, and Warlocks, intelligent and superior.

The Ghost that revived said person became that person's eternal companion, acting as a guide and a way to everlasting life, as a Guardian cannot truly die, so long as their Ghost lives on. The Ghost can resurrect their Guardian infinitely, assuming they maintain connected to the Traveler's Light.

The Ghosts also revived Exos, robots with human features and personalities that had been involved in an ancient war, before the Collapse.

The Awoken, the people that had tried to flee the Collapse and got corrupted also had Ghosts reach them. The Awoken settled in and around the Reef, the asteroid belt around Saturn.

All three species, the Awoken, the Exo, and the Humans, had members that became empowered with Light.

These Light imbued persons had to contend against the forces of the Darkness.

The Fallen, the 4-armed species that previously held the Light. The Traveler abandoned them for some reason, and they followed it, desperately trying to cling to it.

The Cabal, essentially militaristic space rhinos from another Galaxy, who wage war on all the races.

The Vex, ancient machines that are powered by a living fluid, manipulate time and space in an attempt to assimilate all life.

And finally, the Taken, mixes of all the races, but are shadows of themselves, their minds bent by Oryx, the Taken King and his followers.

Amongst the Guardians, an organization known as the Vanguard emerged, creating a sort of government for the Guardians.

Three leaders rose amongst the Vanguard ranks; a Hunter Exo named Cayde-6; an Awoken Titan named Zavala; and a Human Warlock named Ikora.

These three became the Vanguards of their respective classes, leading their fellows and cultivating their powers. This led to the term "Guardian", a Light possessing being that works with the Vanguard.

This brings us to present day, following the Cabal war on the Last City and Traveler.

The three Vanguards, having returned to the New Tower and having pushed the Cabal remnants out of the city, now focus on a new threat.

The assemble a Fireteam of the best Guardian of their class, and send them on the Strike, codenamed **Savathun's Song.**

 **Savathun's Song**

"So. How do you think they'll do?"

"It's hard to say. First time Fireteams generally have issues-"

"They'll be fine. They _are_ the best of the best."

"Besides us, of course."

"Cayde, your pick has more eliminations in the Crucible than you do, two-fold."

"Ikora, is that really the point?"

Zavala cleared his throat. "Stop bickering, you two. We need to discuss some things before they land."

The three Vanguards stood assembled inside the inner Sanctum of the New Tower, discussing the mission at hand.

"Zavala, I know you're wondering about it too!" Cayde said, hopping from one foot to the other.

"Yes, but you're the only one excited about it." Zavala exhaled.

"What's not to be excited about!?"

Ikora took a deep breath. "Alright Cayde, since you clearly weren't paying attention, I'll say it again." She paused as Cayde's excited blue LED eyes stared back at her. Ikora sighed.

"The Guardians we have chosen are skilled, yes." Ikora looked directly at Cayde. "However, their personalities, a lot like ours, have the potential to conflict."

Cayde gasped. "What do you mean like ours? You guys are my best friends!"

Zavala chuckled. "You may be right. But that doesn't mean we like it."

Cayde brought his hand to his forehead dramatically. "Oh, woe is me!"

Ikora cleared her throat. "Anyways, yes, they have some issues. So, we have to monitor the situation once they land."

Zavala stood. "Agreed."

Cayde lowered his hand. "You guys are no fun."

Zavala and Ikora turned away, focusing on the screens that had their Guardian's Ghost's video streams on them.

"They're landing."

"Alright, well…" Cayde kicked the dust off his shoes. "Guess I'll go talk to Hawthorne then…"

"Hmpf." The other Vanguards stayed facing the screens.

Cayde dropped his shoulders and exhaled. He took one last look at them before he turned on his heel and left them.

The dropship screamed through the air, carving a path to the landing zone.

"So… uh… do you guys know what planet we are going to?

The Hunter looked around the bay, as if searching for the answer on the ground.

"There was blue light on the way in," The Warlock adjacent to him said. "Must be Titan."

The Titan looked up, realized they were taking about the moon, and went back to coloring his Ghost.

"Ah." The Hunter smacked his forehead. "That makes sense. Haven't been to the Arcology in a while…"

His eyes drifted towards the Titan. He had his Ghost trying out different color shaders in front of him, while he remained grunting in seemingly the same manner every time.

The Hunter shuffled his feet and played with the buckle on his vest.

"Nervous?" the Warlock asked.

"Who, me?" The Hunter sprang to his feet suddenly. "Never!"

The Titan was looking at them now, his Ghost busy applying a new shader.

"Are you sure?" the Warlock inquired. "I know some meditation techniques that could help."

The Hunter spun dramatically and faced the Warlock. "I'm not nervous! I'm- "

The Hunter pointed at the Titan with both hands. The Titan raised his metal eyebrows behind his helmet. The Hunter glanced and noticed his not as enthusiastic demeanor. His shoulders slumped.

"Fabulous. Its fabulous…" The Hunter sat back down, chin to his chest.

The Warlock giggled. "You're an exuberant one, aren't you?"

He shrugged.

The Warlock cocked her head. "What's your name?"

"Ben."

"Ben? That's it?"

"Yep. Not Benjamin, or Benny, just Ben." He shrugged again.

The Warlock giggled again and removed her helmet. "Well, my name is Delphine. Nice to meet you."

Ben's jaw dropped. "You're an Awoken?"

She frowned. "Is that an issue?"

Ben backpedaled. "No no! That's not it! I just haven't seen many of you! Other than Zavala, the Cryptarch, and that weirdo on Io."

Delphine crossed her arms. "Well, I suppose that's fair."

"I didn't mean any offense. I promise. Delphine is a nice name, by the way." Ben leaned back into his seat, feeling the tension dissipate.

Delphine stood and stretched. "Thank you. Yours is nice as well."

Ben smiled and glanced at the Titan again.

"Say, what's your name, big guy?" Ben stood and leaned against the hull.

The Titan and his Ghost turned and looked at him in silence. Ben waved sarcastically, but to no avail. Ben frowned. "It'd probably help to know your name, pal."

Ben's Ghost poked out of his back pack. "They seem talkative."

Delphine turned towards the Titan as well. "Solus, am I right?"

The Titan turned back to his Ghost. "Someone has done their homework."

Ben whirled to face Delphine. "Solus? THE Solus?"

Solus turned towards them, still sitting.

Ben jumped to his feet. "Well, I'll be damned! It is you! The guy that beat Lord Shaxx in a wrestling match?"

He heard the Titan chuckle a little.

"Only barely, kid."

"That's so COOL!" Ben whipped off his backpack and started rummaging around. "I'd heard rumors, but I didn't believe it! Can I have your autograph? I have something in here somewhere…"

All three of them got suddenly jolted as the dropship touched down. Ben flew across the hold, having not properly braced himself like the other two. Solus shook his head and grabbed his Ghost (which was now dyed a blue hue) tightly, and Delphine put her helmet on and pulled a lever.

The cargo door opened, and the lack of atmosphere outside sucked everything loose out onto the deck, including Ben, who flew out the hatch and landed crumpled on the flight deck.

"Oh, come on! Why am I always the one getting tossed around!?" Ben grunted as he pulled himself to his feet.

Delphine and Solus made their way down the ramp to where Ben was.

"Took you all long enough. Who was flying you, Banshee?"

Commander Sloane strode towards them from the command tower. Her brisk pace let the Guardians know something was wrong. Her voice had a lilt in it as well, as someone who is under extreme stress. Her large, black bags under her eyes didn't help.

"Commander." Solus kneeled.

"Oh, you know we don't stand on circumstance, Solus." Sloane shifted her weight around uneasily as Solus remained kneeled.

"Sloane! Haven't seen you since we lost our Light!" Ben was back to his feet, seemingly unfazed by the rag dolling he had just suffered.

"Nice to see you too, Ben." Sloane noticed Delphine and sighed. "Oh, and Delphine. This will be very interesting…"

Ben raised an eyebrow and Solus cocked his head. Delphine just stood there.

Sloane cleared her throat. "Well Guardians, today we have an urgent mission, so I'm going to get right to the point now." Sloane's voice had suddenly dropped an octave, and her brows furrowed.

"I'm going to be frank. This is a rescue mission. And not an easy one."

Delphine stepped forward. "How many, Commander?"

Sloane scratched her head and sighed. "Four."

Ben raised an eyebrow. "Four? But a Fireteam is three? Why did they have a fourth?"

Sloane turned and faced the Arcology. "Not four Guardians… four Fireteams."

There was silence.

Solus' Ghost, now a bright shade of yellow, was the first to speak. "Um, what? This is a joke, right?"

Ben piped up, "Yeah, this seems fishy. Why would more than one Fireteam go into one place anyway? And how are they ALL missing?"

Sloane turned to face them again. "It is not a joke." Her tone was grave. "I sent the first in three days ago. After I lost contact ten minutes in I sent in another to scout. Their last response was yesterday morning. I sent in two at once last night and haven't had word since."

"This is highly unusual." Delphine said, hand to chin. "The Arcology is no reason to lose contact, and it hasn't been that dangerous since it was cleared a few months ago."

"I know." Sloane sat on some ammo boxes that were on the edge of the landing pad. "That's why you guys are here. I wanted the best of the best, and I got 'em."

"Aww, Commander…" Ben blushed.

"Delphine is right." Solus rose from kneeling, ignoring Ben. "Comms have always worked in the Arcology, so something has to have gone wrong."

"All of you, I know. That's why you're here." Sloane had turned and looked almost angry. "That's all the information I have. Now go, get ready and get them out. We're wasting time."

The three were taken aback. Most missions had a lot more prep and a lot more information.

Delphine broke the silence. "All due respect, Commander, but shouldn't we know at least what the first team went in for? To get an idea of what could be down there?"

Sloane stood up and walked over to Delphine and handed her a datapad. "Take this and go. This has the first group's mission briefing." Without another word, she turned and walked briskly into the command building.

The three exchanged looks as Delphine's Ghost analyzed the datapad.

"Well, you heard the lady." Solus grabbed his gun and began walking down the main stairs.

"You know," Ben said as he grabbed his gun as well. "he's a lot less cocky than I thought he'd be. You know, for someone who out wrestled the Crucible handler." He added quickly.

Delphine nodded. "He seems fairly down to earth, per se, especially for a Titan."

The group got down to the ground level and summoned their Sparrows, levitating rocket bikes used for personal transport.

"How far is it to the Arcology again?" Ben yelled to Delphine over the roaring of the vehicles.

"About two minutes. Just be aware of the Hive around here…"

Ben and Solus nodded and throttled their bikes. They shot forward, Delphine right behind them. She stayed near the back of their formation, scanning for potential threats. The Arcology was littered with Hive across all the platforms, including some Fallen. The Arcology was built on top of platforms that were suspended over the planet encompassing methane ocean, meaning one wrong turn would send them plummeting into the freezing liquid below. Delphine kept an eye out for all issues as they made their way towards the entrance to the deeper parts of the Archology where the Fireteams had gone in.

The trio reached the entrance to the Arcology, seeing no signs of life on their approach. Solus and Ben dismounted first and scanned the area as Delphine brought up the rear.

"It's odd." Ben said as he hopped off his Sparrow. "I haven't seen anything or anyone this whole time."

Delphine was inspecting a growth of Hive chitin on the side of the entrance. It was fully surrounded by the green crystalline structures the Hive leave wherever they may be. "The Hive are here, all right. This chitin is fresh."

Solus was standing directly in the entrance staring deeper into it. "Then they must be inside."

Ben frowned underneath his helmet. "Okay, that all good and dandy, but why are there no guards? Or anything? The Hive are ALWAYS around."

Delphine shrugged. The Guardians surveyed the entrance a little longer, before deciding to make their way in. Their breathing quickened, the overwhelming smell of decay and Hive penetrating their noses, bypassing their helmets. The hallway was damp and dark, and quite crowded with three Guardians traipsing through it. The atmosphere was oppressive, and it felt like the walls were closer than they were.

"Here." Solus bent towards the ground. "Footprints. Guardian ones."

Delphine looked as well. "It appears that the Hive have been through here as well."

A crack resounded through the hall and Solus and Delphine whirled towards it, guns raised.

Ben stood there, holding an orange piece of Hive chitin in his hand, a look of innocence spread on his face.

"It broke off! It was shiny!"

Solus and Delphine shook their heads in unison and turned back to the trail and moved forward. As soon as their backs were turned, Ben pocketed the chitin and followed.

Soon, the way forward became too dark to see with the small lights the Hive left around. Their Ghosts came out and illuminated the way forward, hovering at their shoulders.

The trio reached an opening in the hallway, a hole in a massive Golden Age TV screen that led to the courtyard of the Arcology. Ben began to move forward, but Delphine stopped him.

"Wait, look. Check your radar."

Every Guardian has a HUD, or Heads Up Display, on the inside of their helmets. It displays their motion radar, health indicator, and ammo and loadout readings. Ben's radar, which he had not been paying attention to, had one green dot in the middle (him), and two blue ones beside him (Delphine and Solus). However, 3 red dots were marked approximately 15 meters ahead of them, just outside.

"Ah. Gotcha."

Delphine nodded and crouched. Ben and Solus did the same and walked forward.

They reached the opening, and Ben had his Ghost fly out to peer around the edge of it.

"Three Hive." Ben's Ghost reported. "One Knight, and two Acolytes." The Ghost returned to his shoulder.

The Hive were separated into a caste system, like most of the Guardian's enemies. From lowest to highest rank were the Thrall, Acolytes, Knights, Wizards, and Ogres. Individually, most of them were easily dispatched, but a group could mean trouble.

"Cool." Ben's grin was noticeable under his armor as he whispered. "I got em'."

"Wait- "Delphine tried to grab his shoulder, but he was already gone.

He lept towards the entrance, and performed a deft tumble through the gap, his Ghost slipping into his pack. The surprised Hive jumped and whirled to face him, their shadows a blur on the other side of the glass screen. As soon as Ben's feet hit the ground, just as the Hive were about to open fire, he vanished, going invisible to the Hive.

The Hive, confused, held their fire. The Knight barked an order, unintelligible to the Guardians. The two Acolytes moved slowly towards the place where Ben had been standing while the Knight stood still and surveyed the area.

Faintly, the voice of Solus was heard. "Amateurs."

The Knight's head suddenly exploded in a shower of Hive chitin and goo, as Ben's sniper rifle recoiled from the base of the Knight's neck. The headless body slammed to the ground, his sword and shield breaking on impact.

The Acolytes turned just in time to see Ben reappear. Ben drew his hand cannon and fired two shots, expertly hitting both Acolytes in their third eye, directly in the middle of their foreheads. They crumpled to the ground, the casings of the pistol hitting simultaneously.

All was quiet, five seconds had passed, no more red dots.

Delphine and Solus climbed through the hole, removing the safeties from their guns as they did.

"That was brash and could raise an alarm." Delphine frowned.

"That was cool." Solus extended a hand, and Ben readily high fived him with a flourish. "You'd think the Hive would be used to all our abilities by now… thank the Traveler they haven't smarted up."

Ben began to reply but was interrupted by the sound of the comm equipment in their helmets crackling to life.

"Guardians, this is the Vanguard on a shared channel." Ikora's voice rang through the speakers in the helmets. "Have you begun the infiltration?"

"Affirmative Ikora." Delphine said. "We just entered the courtyard and dealt with a small group of hostiles."

"Hmm." Zavala's voice appeared suddenly in their helmets as well. "It is odd that you've experienced such little resistance thus far…"

Ben noticed Solus start to kneel, hesitate, then straighten up again.

"Yes, Commander." Solus spoke with a militaristic lilt in his voice. "I made note of this earlier and mentioned it to the fireteam."

"Ah, thank you Solus." Zavala's voice seemed forced. "I appreciate your enthusiasm."

"Where is Cayde?" Ben suddenly asked.

"Oh." Ikora said. "He said something about seeing Hawthorne then left."

"Aww…" Ben sighed deeply. "I haven't spoken with him in a while."

"He is an aloof Vanguard, to be sure." Zavala said. "However, we are getting off track, that is neither here nor there."

Ben sighed. "Yes Commander, of course. Continue."

Ikora cleared her throat. "We were just checking in to make sure everything was going smoothly. Sloane filled us in on the details, and we understand the severity of this operation. Keep in contact and keep moving forward. Vanguard out." The speakers in their helmets clicked, signaling the disconnection.

Ben sighed. He and Cayde were known to be good friends, but they didn't have much time to talk with each other since Cayde became the Hunter Vanguard.

Delphine clicked her tongue. "Now is not the time for sentimentality. We have to keep moving."

Ben hung his head, reloaded his pistol, and slung his sniper back over his shoulder. "Yeah. Gotcha."

Solus grunted and took point, walking over the dead Acolytes. Delphine and Ben followed in tow.

They explored the open area of the Arcology, with open atmosphere and signs with languages from the Golden Age. Not long after, Solus nodded towards a door on the other side of the courtyard.

The group progressed towards the door, moving slowly, careful not to run into any hiding Hive.

As they got closer Solus slowed down.

"Is that… a Hive lock?" Solus whispered.

"What the…" Delphine lowered her guard. "I've never seen the Hive lock a _human_ door before…"

The Hive had large seals, connected with large chain links, made of and bound by Hive chitin. However, they had only ever been used on their own ships and doors, never on ones of other species. Until now.

They reached the door and formed a defensive position, Ben at the door and Delphine and Solus watching his flank.

Their Ghosts left their packs and examined the locks for a few seconds, then Delphine's spoke.

"We can get through this lock, just like normal." Her Ghost had a female voice, something rare amongst Ghosts. "However, it has more seals than normal, so take that as you will."

Delphine frowned. "I really don't like this. Most doors have one seal, and this has three. And it's on a man-made door…"

Ben, currently tracing the patterns of the Hive symbols on the seals with his finger, spoke. "It's the only way forward. I've been through here before, and everywhere else is blocked. That's probably why the Hive chose it, to be honest…"

"Well, let's get it done, then." Solus checked his rifle and shotgun.

Delphine nodded to her Ghost, and the trio began decrypting and unlocking the door.

The instant the Ghosts began scanning the seals, a wave of dread emanated from the locks and washed upon the Guardians.

"Uh." Ben's uneasiness bled into his words. "You guys feel that, right?"

A screech emanated from above them, behind them, to their sides, all around.

"Yep." Delphine and Solus shouldered their weapons. Red dots appeared at the peripherals of their radars, a solid red ring pulsing in their vision.

Solus' Ghost spoke loudly over the cacophony of noise that now filled the area. "Buy us some time!"

As the last word was said, all hell broke loose.

Dozens of Thrall came crawling and sprinting out of cracks in the infrastructure, followed by approximately twenty Acolytes. A quintet of Knights appeared as well. They came roaring across the courtyard, the tall lumbering Knights in the back.

"Lock and load, folks!" Ben shouted, sprinting to cover.

The Thrall reached them first. They were falling as fast as they came, crawling over the bodies of their kin. The hail of bullets from the Guardians seemed to only stall them. They alternated fire so there was always a constant bullet stream going.

Delphine gritted her teeth against the recoil of her fusion rifle, vaporizing a trio of Thrall in one burst. "I've never seen this many Hive at once before!" Her voice was only heard through their comms, the true voice lost in the sounds of battle.

Solus had put up a Rally Barricade, a shield of Light shaped like an upright U in front of him. He ducked behind it as a stray Hive firebolt came flying towards him. "Shut up and shoot, Delphine!"

Ben was trying to snipe the Knights in the rear of the formation, but they had formed a shield-wall around a few of the Acolytes and turtled. "I can't get a shot in!" He fired a few rounds into the front Knight, but the hard chitin of its shield stopped the bullets in their tracks.

The battle raged for thirty seconds before the Thrall numbers began to dwindle.

"Now's our chance!" Solus ran from cover. "We have to get rid of the Acolyte's before- "

Too late. The Acolytes had been sitting behind the wall of Knights, hidden and safe from the bullets of the Guardians.

A green glow emanated from behind the Knights, and a screech rent the air, causing the Guardians to recoil.

"Shit!"

A Wizard flew from behind the Knights, freshly summoned into this plane from the Ascendant Realm in which Hive tend to reside. The Acolytes had summoned it forth by channeling their magic and creating a portal, safe from gunfire because of the Knight wall.

The Hive that had been the distraction immediately charged forth, a wall of living chitin rushing the three weakened Guardians.

The Guardians had their backs against the wall, and they needed to protect their Ghosts. A wise Fallen Captain once said, never corner a Guardian, you will come to regret it.

And these Hive had cornered three.

Ben moved first. He jumped into the air and pulled a bow of Void Light out of thin air. He drew it in the same motion, and released the Shadowshot directly into the middle of the group of enemies. From its point of impact Tethers shot outward that latched onto the enemies within its range, effectively suppressing and restricting them. As he hit the ground, he turned and sprinted towards the Ghosts.

Next came Delphine. She flew from behind cover and shouted, "Cover your ears!" she soared past Ben, shielding his back from the Hive as he ran.

A roar exuded from her body as she channeled her power into her hands, unleashing a powerful stream of Arc energy from her outstretched hands. As she glided through the air, she carved through the enemies from a distance, suspended in the air, obliterating everything and anything the beam touched. The Wizard was unable to move out of the way in time, as it was blown apart and atomized, along with the majority of the Knights and Acolytes that were unfortunate enough to be in the way. After a few seconds, the roar died, and the beam weakened. "HURRY!" Delphine shouted, running out of power.

Ben and Solus were shielding the Ghosts with their bodies, in case of a stray shredder round. As Delphine's Chaos Reach finally stopped, the remaining Hive - 2 Knights, one missing a shield, 3 Acolytes, and a handful of Thrall - roared in simultaneous rage. The loss of their comrades spurred them on, as they made one last desperate rush at the Guardians.

Delphine, quite out of breath, ran to the Ghosts as well. "How much-" She sucked in a large breath. "Longer?"

Delphine's Ghost replied; "We are almost done. Very close. You all have done admirably. But I don't think there is enough time. The Hive are quite angry with us, and will reach us before we finish."

Ben turned his back to the door. "Then I guess we have to try, right?" He took a step, then Solus grabbed his shoulder.

"It ain't over yet, son." He pulled Ben back and walked forward.

Solus stood in front of the door, Delphine and Ben behind him. He faced the horde of Hive, frenzied and wild, sprinting towards them. He did not falter. They were within twenty meters.

Solus put his hands in the air and in them gathered a mass of Void Light. He held them there until the brightness of the Light was almost blinding, a few seconds of brilliance, then a bellow.

"I am the wall!" Solus spread his arms wide in one swift movement as he quoted the 7th Pillar of the Titan commandments, the Hive ten meters away. "AGAINST WHICH THE DARKNESS BREAKS!"

A Void Light bubble exploded around the group, creating a shelter for them and the Ghosts. Instantly, the injured Guardians felt stronger than they had ever felt before. Their wounds healed, and they felt empowered.

The Hive, still charging, ran without hesitation against the bubble, not realizing the power of the dome. The Hive that hit first, the Acolytes and Thrall, _evaporated_ on contact, and the Knights skidded to a halt just outside the bubble, confused and shocked at the sudden loss of their kin.

"Since when is THAT a thing?" Ben said.

Delphine stood near her Ghost, unmoving. "I've heard of powers being altered under extreme circumstances… but to see it happen in front of you… it's amazing."

Solus smiled and turned to face them. "I've been able to make this dome since I was made a Guardian."

The Knights, not knowing what to do, backed off from the dome and put their shields up to protect the one that didn't have one. The Guardians noticed this particular Knight was a foot taller than the others and seemed to have more a more angular body. Its chitin armor was also black, unlike the common olive green of the average Knight.

Delphine noticed this first. "Do you guys see that big Knight? The other ones are protecting it…"

Ben moved to the edge of the bubble and looked closer. "Yeah… that is definitely different."

Solus readied his weapon. "I'll explain my power later, for now, let's eliminate the rest. I don't like the feeling that big one is giving me."

They all nodded in agreement and began to move towards the edge of the dome, when their Ghosts interrupted them.

"We're done!"

The locks fell from the door with heavy thuds. The Ghosts flew back to their owners and nestled in their packs. The Guardians, full of confidence, continued the approach towards the Knights. The Knights began to back away, still facing them.

Suddenly, the door behind them opened.

As the doors slid apart, a massive Ogre stomped towards the Guardians and the dome. It was flanked by three Knights on each side. A roar exuded from its mouth that deafened the Guardians, even through the dome of Void light.

"Oh shit." Ben whispered.

Solus started saying something, Delphine started to run.

The Ogre unleashed a torrent of Void energy directly into the dome, obliterating it instantly. The Knights that had been on the other side of the dome had seen this coming and had gotten away in the chaos.

Where the Guardians had stood was a crater five meters in diameter and one meter in depth. It was completely turned to glass from the heat and pressure of the blast.

The three Guardians were huddled against the concrete pillar that had been adjacent to the dome. They had dived for it at the last second. The heat from the blast had melted the pillar partly so it covered them well.

They sat quietly, hoping the Hive would think they had won. They heard the Ogre stomp about for a minute, the Knights checking the scene. Ben could see that the Ogre was chained to the Knights with the same kind of chitin locks the doors had. The Hive must have been satisfied with their search, because they left soon after, back through the door. Ben noted that Solus was breathing particularly deeply, and Delphine a little shallow.

After the footsteps faded, the Guardian's bodies relaxed.

Ben rolled out from the pillar and sprawled on the ground. "Ogres are such a pain."

Solus rolled onto his back, his right arm missing. "Yeah, I'll say."

Ben gasped and crawled to Solus. "Oh, fuck. Uh, Delphine? Little help?" He looked over to her and seeing her collapsed against the pillar told him everything.

Over Solus' body he could see that Delphine was missing most of her lower body. She had managed to jump and clear most of the Void blasts, but as a Warlock, she had been slower than Ben and Solus. Her breathing was indeed shallow, as he was fairly sure she was missing a lung.

She slowly turned her head towards him and coughed. "How do I look, Ben?"

Ben felt a wave of shame and guilt, as he had come out from the incident largely unscathed. As a Hunter, he had been fast enough to react and dodge out of the way of the blast completely.

Solus' Ghost came from underneath him and floated above him. "I'll fix him up," it flitted towards where Solus' arm should have been. "make sure Delphine's Ghost made it."

Ben leapt to his feet and hurried towards her. The smell of burning flesh permeated his nostrils. The heat had instantly cauterized her wounds, stopping her from bleeding out.

Her Ghost materialized above her hand as he approached and made a tsking noise.

"Damn Ogres…" the Ghost floated around her body, scanning the damage. "they make my job so much more difficult. This will take a minute or so, Ben."

Ben nodded and headed back to Solus. He was sitting up, his arm fully regenerated thanks to his Ghost.

Solus flexed his arm and cocked his head towards Ben. "Why are you so shaken up?" Ben was visibly shaking, and behind his visor he was as pale as a piece of slate.

Ben shook his head and sat next to Solus. The Titan was genuinely surprised.

"Ben, what's wrong? What happened?" Solus grabbed him by his shoulder and turned him towards him. "Ben?"

Ben was unresponsive.

Solus' face twisted behind his helmet. "Ben, seriously, if this is a joke…?"

Ben didn't move.

Solus was shocked. he couldn't understand why Ben was acting like this. Nothing out of the ordinary had happened, just another crazy firefight. It happens often to Guardians, mind-numbing battles that leave you a little rattled at the end, but what Ben was experiencing was something entirely different.

Solus stood and offered a hand to Ben, but he made no attempt to grab it. Solus shook his head and looked to Delphine.

Delphine was back on her feet at this point, shaking out the soreness in her regenerated limbs. She took a deep breath, filling her new lungs with filtered air.

"He's shell-shocked." She said. She strode over to Ben and looked into his visor, then nodded.

Solus blinked. "What?"

Delphine sat down next to Ben. "You'd know if you looked at the briefing, Solus." She took Ben's hand and held it. "He may be the best of the best, but that's because he's never seen the worst."

Solus slowly put it together. Ben was one of the few Guardians that had tons of experience in the winning department, but very little in the losing.

"He's never been injured? He's never lost a fireteam member?" Solus whispered.

"Not him, or any one of his usual fireteam members have ever been seriously injured before." She shook her head and put her arms around Ben, holding his head. "He was off-planet during the Red War, so he missed all the blood bath that ensued."

"Oh." Solus remembered the first time he had seen someone get ripped apart by a Fallen Captain, then reassembled by a Ghost. It had been a difficult to stomach, but he hadn't shut down like this. _"But then again,"_ Solus thought to himself. _"Everyone is different."_

Ben's Ghost appeared at his shoulder and sighed. "I had a feeling this would happen the first time." It nudged his helmet, and Ben didn't move. "He has only seen enemies and people in the Crucible like that, and the Crucible is all fake anyways, and he knows that."

Solus and Delphine exchanged looks. They couldn't leave him here, but they would be most definitely put at a disadvantage by lugging him along with them. They could abandon the mission, but that would be rough on Ben when he snapped out of it. No option felt right.

They stood and pondered for a moment. Ben's Ghost said it couldn't help with this kind of problem, only physical things could be healed. The two Guardians knew this, of course.

"Solus," Delphine put her hands on his shoulder. "we have to take him with us."

Solus sighed, and bent down and slung Ben over his shoulders in the classic "fireman carry" technique, as it is called. Ben's Ghost went into his sack.

"I can still shoot, just not accurately." Solus had to one hand his shotgun. "Can't use my abilities or my grenades though."

Delphine nodded. "I understand. I'll try my best to cover you."

The duo (plus comatose Ben) made their way through the now clear and unguarded door, as the Hive thought they were dead.

"Let's keep going forward, but if we run into too much trouble lets turn back." Solus said.

"Agreed." Delphine glanced sideways at the Titan. "Is he heavy? We can switch off." Delphine asked.

Solus laughed. "Heavy? He's a Hunter. Probably weighs a hundred kilos, max."

The muffled voice of Ben's Ghost came from his pack; "Correct, he last weighed in at ninety-five kilos."

The group laughed.

As they made their way deeper into the complex, they were once again unhindered by enemies, like at the beginning of their excursion. The farther they went, the more Hive structures they saw. When they had begun, only some of the walls had Hive chitin on them, but as they went below the third level of the structure, entire walls were covered. Hive locks were on all the side doors, and other crystalline Hive structures that had no apparent purpose were littered around. The way was again lit by the small lights the Hive had left behind. There was an unnatural chill this far down, that had the Guardians on edge.

As they reached the bottom of the fourth level, they saw a small group of Hive ahead of them. Seeing this, the Guardians hid behind a pillar, out of sight. Solus put Ben against it and turned to Delphine.

"What do you think?" he asked.

She was quiet for a moment. "We can definitely take them. It's a Knight and a few Acolytes."

Solus nodded. "Want to go for it, then?" he readied his shotgun.

Delphine shook her head. "We should radio back to the Vanguard and see what they think. If we get ambushed again, I don't know if we can hold them off a second time." She shuddered.

Solus nodded slowly. "Good reasoning. It isn't worth the risk." He slung his shotgun over his back and hunkered down.

Delphine nodded and moved back up the ramp slowly, creating some distance between her and the Hive. Solus stayed with Ben, covering her front. He gave her the thumbs up when she got to the top of the ramp.

"Vanguard, this is Delphine of fireteam Caliban, do you read me?"

The comm crackled and popped for a few seconds, then silence.

Delphine tried again. "Vanguard, are you there?"

Nothing.

Delphine's heartrate spiked. "Vanguard? Sloane?" she checked her helmet systems; she was broadcasting, but nothing was getting through.

Her Ghost appeared at her shoulder. "There is no signal. I can't read anything from above the surface. Something is jamming our comms."

Delphine swallowed. "Oh, wonderful. What do you suggest?"

The Ghost paused for a moment, hovering at her shoulder. "It's up to you. Decide with Solus. This is less than ideal, but we are also close to the bottom."

She nodded and walked back down the ramp, her Ghost going back to its pocket in her pack.

She reached Solus and explained the situation. He sighed and slumped against the pillar.

"This is so messed up." He took his helmet off and set it down beside him. His white LED eyes burned bright against the poorly lit background of Hive chitin. "I don't know what to do."

Delphine sat next to Ben and shook him, but to no avail. She turned to Solus. "I know. This hasn't happened before. It's a tough situation."

Solus stretched his mechanical muscles and sighed. "I think our best bet is to keep going and pray for the best."

Delphine shook her head. "What if we get ambushed again? I can't use my super over and over, Solus, and either can you. You can only shoot one gun, and when it runs out you can't reload unless you put Ben down, which isn't going to work."

Solus shrugged. "If we turn back now Ben will blame himself when he snaps out of it, and we will have wasted so much time."

Delphine paused. He made some good points, but the risk was still too great. If they continued and ran into more trouble, they would be in danger of actually dying. As she pondered this, Solus sat silently, again making his Ghost change colors in front of him, now a shade of bright red, almost crimson.

She sighed and crossed her legs. "Give me a minute to think, I'll think of another option."

Solus grunted and kept focused on his Ghost.

Delphine closed her eyes and tried to think of other options, but none came to mind. As she sat, she entered the Warlock meditation state that Ikora had taught her. In this, she could use eighty percent of her brain at once instead of the normal fifty, and the ability to sense things around her. She sped through potential possibilities with this heightened potential, once again coming to no avail. She sighed and resigned herself to convincing Solus to abandon the mission and fall back. As she did, her mind wandered to the Hive group they had seen earlier. She searched for them with her mind's eye, and found – nothing?

Her eyes snapped open to see Solus sitting in the same place with his Ghost floating above his hand, as before, the Ghost now bright green.

She sighed. " _False alarm",_ she thought.

A bright flash of crimson on her radar told her otherwise. She didn't even have time to warn Solus.

In one swift movement, the Acolyte jumped from the other side of the pillar, shooting the unaware Solus directly in the face. He slumped to the floor, dropping his gun.

His Ghost tried to get away, but the Acolyte grabbed it out of the air and immediately ran back down the ramp.

" _FUCK_!" Delphine shouted, scrambling to her feet to chase the Acolyte.

She sprinted after it, running full speed down the ramp. The Acolyte was running too and had a significant head start. She chased it for a few seconds before it ran through a door just off the ramp and slammed it shut behind it. Delphine pounded and ripped at the door, but to no avail.

" _NOOO_!" She screamed, tears of desperation in her eyes. Everything was going wrong, and everything was out of control.

She shot the door, threw her grenade at it, and punched it some more, and nothing happened.

Her Ghost appeared in front of her. "Delphine, you need to relax. Stop. This isn't going to work!"

" _SHUT UP_!" she smacked the Ghost out of the way and kept hitting the door. "If we don't get his Ghost back, Solus will-!"

To her surprise, the door opened.

There stood the Acolyte, along with the massive black armored Knight from earlier. A mass of Hive stood behind them as well.

Delphine's primal urge for survival screamed at her to run. She grabbed her Ghost out of the air and ran.

The Hive roared and pursued, weapons blazing.

Hive energy bolts and fire rained around her, some striking her in the shoulders and back. A sledgehammer of pain hit her in her calf, and she stumbled. She rolled onto the ground, the Hive stampeding towards her.

" _This is it."_ She thought to herself. She stood, just barely. Her leg was burned badly, no way could she run on it.

Her Ghost, still in her hand, wrenched free and floated behind her head. "It's been a ride, Delphine, but I don't think we are going to survive this." It sounded solemn, like it didn't care that death was rapidly approaching.

Delphine smiled, and conjured an empowering rift around her, a well of Light that allowed her to supercharge her bullets with the Light over time. "Last stand, friend."

She readied her weapon, ready to face the horde about to around the corner.

Ben was struggling internally. He was indeed suffering from PTSD, as the scene of Delphine's gory body had broken his mind. In an instant, his friends had been rendered asunder, and it had been something he was unprepared for. He had never experienced something like this, and it was rough on his psyche. As his mind battled on, he felt himself become lost in his own mind. As he floated in the torturous sea of gore and emotions, he had no comprehension of anything happening outside of him. He drifted aimlessly for what felt like days.

Then, suddenly, a burning in his side.

Ben woke up. He was lying against a pillar, somewhere. He assumed that the group had continued with him somehow, as he could not see the sky. He looked towards the source of the burning and realized it was coming from his pack. He opened it slowly, and in his hand was the piece of orange chitin he had picked up earlier. It was pulsing, and very hot.

Suddenly, a voice boomed in his head, not from his comms.

" **Light-Bearer."** The volume rocked his head, causing him to reel in pain. **"My name is Savathun. I am a – ".** It paused for a second. **"Friend, of yours."**

Ben didn't understand and was a confused as he had ever been. The images of his destroyed teammates faded before the voice, however, so he listened.

" **You and your fellow Light-Bearer's are in extreme danger, and you must flee."** It continued, once again pounding into Ben's skull. **"Your friend next to you is alive, but barely. His 'Little-Light' has been taken. Your female companion is in grave peril as well, as she is currently outnumbered by Hive. You must go save your friends, then flee. Do you understand?"**

"What?" Ben said, turning to his side to see Solus, his body collapsed next to him. His helmet had not been on it seemed, as his mechanical face was melted on one side. The lights in his eyes flickered dimly.

Again, Ben found himself slipping into the sea of despair, but the voice brought him back.

" **No, Light-Bearer. You must not lose hope. Muster your strength and go. Before you lose your chance. We shall speak again, if you succeed."**

Ben started to respond, but the chitin in his hand crumbled to dust. Whatever connection there was, was now gone.

But the voice had saved him, so he trusted it.

He stood and heard a commotion behind him. He looked around the other side of the pillar to see Delphine on one knee, Light swirling around her. She was fighting a small army of Hive and was clearly losing.

The voice rang clearly in his mind, and he knew what he had to do.


End file.
